NINE PEOPLE CAUGHT ILLEGALLY CROSSING THE CRO-SLOVENE BORDER

( Editorial: --> 6920 ) ZAGREB, May 27 (Hina) - Croatian border police on Tuesday evening captured eight foreigners and one Croatian citizen who were trying to illegally cross the Croatian-Slovene border. In a van which border police stopped while crossing the bridge on one of the ancillary roads, there were two citizens of Bosnia- Herzegovina, the driver Avdija S. (42) and Hanumika H. (37); Macedonian citizens Bajramali F. (36), Emurla S. (40) and Jetmir R. (22); Rumanian citizen Daniela M. (30) and Moldavian citizens Svetlana G. (29) and Svetlana S. (24). When police stopped the vehicle, Croatian citizen Vahid O. (19) ran away, jumped into the Sava River and swam to the other side, where he was caught. All the captured foreigners had legally entered Croatia. The Macedonians came into Croatia on May 17 and stayed in Zagreb where they met Vahid O. who promised he would smuggle them across the border to Slovenia for a price, said Zagreb Police spokesman Josip Begovic. The Rumanian and Moldavians claim that they were hitch- hiking and the van picked them up, said Begovic, adding that they had to leave Croatia by May 19. Vahid O. was taken to jail to serve a sentence for a previous charge, while charges are being laid against the rest. (hina) jn bag/ha 271614 MET may 98